Giovanni Villani was born sometime before 1277. His
career was that of the typical well-to-do Florentine merchant. In
1300 he became a member of the bankers' guild and a shareholder in
the Perruzi company, one of the leading Florentine trading and
money-lending firms. For the next few years Villani traveled around
Europe in the service of his company .Then in 1307 he returned to
Florence, married, and settled down to a Iife of involvement in city
politics. During the last decade of his life Villani's fortunes took a
dramatic turn. Imprisoned for debt in 1338, he emerged to find both
his standard of living and his political power drastically curtailed. In
1348 he died, presumably of the black death, along with up to half of
his fellow citizens.

Villani is principally remembered, not as merchant or politician,
but as an historian. His chronicle of Florentine history offers a vivid
picture of medieval city life. The following excerpts are chosen to
illustrate the complexities of Florentine politics and society. The first
selection deals with the rise of the Guelf-Ghibelline split in Florence, a
division that seriously divided the city in the thirteenth century. The
origin of these two parties can be traced back to twelfth-century
Germany, where two powerful families, the Welf and the
Hohenstaufen, struggled for power. Both had interests in Italy as well
as Germany. The Hohenstaufen occupied the imperial throne and thus
found themselves in conflict with the papacy, which resented the
growth of imperial power in Italy. Thus the popes tended to lean
toward the WeIf faction.

As a result, the WeIf-Hohenstaufen controversy took on a
particular hue in Italy. It became a division between those who
supported the pope and those who supported the emperor. It also
gained a slightly different set of labels. When placed in Italian
mouths, "WeIf" became "Guelf." It may seem a little harder to
imagine how "Hohenstaufen" turned into "Ghibelline," but there really
is an explanation. Supporters of the. Hohenstaufen used the battle-
cry "Waiblingen," the name of a Hohenstaufen castle. It was that
battle cry that came to be Italianized into "Ghibelline." As the
thirteenth century progressed, the papal-imperial rivalry escalated
sharply. The last great Hohenstaufen emperor was Frederick II, the
wiliest, cruelest, most intelligent and least Christian of the lot. By the
time he died in 1250, the popes were determined to obliterate
Hohenstaufen influence in Italy. Shortly after, they did. Thus the
Guelf-Ghibelline battle had an international dimension; yet it also had
a more regional one. The alignment of cities on one side or the other
reflected their rivalry with one another for power within their own
area. Thus predominantly Guelf Florence opposed Ghibelline Siena, its
major rival for influence in Tuscany .Below the regional level, the
controversy had a local level which reflected the rivalry of powerful
families. Thus within Florence Guelf-Ghibelline alignments were often
based on considerations more familial than ideological. It is this level
that Villani emphasizes.

In the year 1215, when Gherardo Orlandi was podest&agrave of
Florence, Bondelmonte dei Buondelmonti promised to marry a young
woman from the house of Amidei, honorable and noble citizens. Later,
as Buondelmonte, a graceful and skillful horseman, was riding through
the city, a woman from the house of Donati called to him and
criticized the marriage agreement he had made, saying his betrothed
was neither beautiful nor fine enough for him. "I've been saving my
own daughter for you," she said, and showed the daughter to him. The
daughter was very beautiful and immediately with the devil's
connivance, Buondelmonte was so smitten that he married her.

The first girl's family met together, smarting from the shame
Buondelmonte had placed upon them, and they were filled with a
terrible indignation that would destroy and divide the city of Florence.
Many noble houses plotted together to bring shame on Buondelmonte
in reprisal for these injuries. As they were discussing whether they
should beat or wound him, Mosca dei Lamberti spoke the evil words,
"A thing done has a head," that is, they should kill him. And thus it
happened, for on Easter morning the Amidei of Santo Stefano
assembled in their house, and as Buondelmonte came from the other
side of the Arno nobly attired in new, white clothes, riding a white
palfrey, when he arrived on this side of the old bridge, precisely at
the foot of the pillar where the statue of Mars stood, he was pulled
from his horse by Schiatta degli Uberti, assaulted and wounded by
Mosca Lamberti and Lambertuccio degli Amidei, and finished off by
Oderigo Fifanti. They had with them one of the Counts of Gangalandi.

As a result, the city was thrown into strife and disorder, for
Buondelmonte's death was the cause and beginning of the cursed
Guelf and Ghibelline parties in Florence. To be sure, there were already
divisions among the noble citizens, and these parties already existed
because of the quarrels and disputes between church and empire; yet
it was because of Buondelmonte's death that all the noble families
and other Florentine citizens were divided into factions, some siding
with the Buondelmonti, leaders of the Guelf party, and others with the
Uberti, leaders of the Ghibellines

* * * * * * * *

By the mid-thirteenth century, Guelf-Ghibelline tension was
an unfortunate but unavoidable fact of life in Florence. The Guelfs
were chased out in 1248, but were soon back and managed to expel
Ghibellines in 1251. The latter were readmitted in 1252 but ejected
again in 1258, as the following selection describes. Note that the
Uberti family was already a prime target of anti-Ghibelline wrath.

Villani says that the Ghibellines were expelled in 1258 because
they "planned to break up the people of Florence." He refers to the
government at the time, the so-called primo popolo or "first
government of the people," which ruled Florence from 1250 to 1260.
Since Villani simply refers to it as "the people," it is often hard to
decide whether he is using the word popolo

in a general sense ("the
citizens of Florence") or in a more specific sense ("the government of
Florence"). It is well to keep the problem in mind when reading.

The office of podest&agrave, an important one in medieval
Italian cities, became popular in the twelfth century. A professional
administrator hired to run the city for a specific time, the podest&agrave
was usually from elsewhere and thus presumably above local
factional divisions. By the end of the thirteenth century his functions
had been limited by the development of other offices, but he still had
an important role in enforcement, as we shall see.

In the year of Christ 1258, when Iacopo Bernardi di Porco was
podest&agrave of Florence, at the end of June, the house of Uberti
and their Ghibelline followers, encouraged by Manfred, planned to
break up the people of Florence because they thought it favored the
Guelfs. When their plot was discovered by the people and they were
cited to appear before the Signoria, they would not do so but attacked
and seriously wounded the staff of the podest&agrave. The people
then armed themselves and ran in fury to the house of the Uberti,
where the palace of the people and priors is now located. There they
killed Schiatuzzo degli Uberti as well as several Uberti followers and
retainers. Uberto Caini degli Uberti and Mangia degl' Infangati were
taken and, once they had publicly confessed the plot, were beheaded.
Others from the house of Uberti, along with other Ghibelline houses,
left Florence and went to Siena, which was ruled by Ghibellines and
was hostile to Florence. Their palaces and towers, of which there
were many, were destroyed and the stones used to build the walls of
San Giorgio Oltrarno, which the Florentine people began at that time
because of their war with the Sienese. Then, in September of the same
year, the Florentine people arrested the abbot of Valambrosa, a well-
born man from the family of the lords of Beccheria of Pavia in
Lombardy. They had been told that he was planning treason at the
request of the exiled Ghibellines. Once they had extracted a
confession from him through torture and the people had called for his
head, they villainously executed him without regard for his rank or
sacred orders. In reprisal, the commune and people of Florence were
excommunicated and Florentines passing through Lombardy were
treated harshly by the abbot's family. And truly, it was said that the
man was not guilty, even though his family ties made him an
important Ghibelline. Many wise men said that, for this sin and many
others committed by the villainous people, God in his divine judgment
permitted vengeance to be wreaked upon the people through the
battle and defeat at Montaperti, which we will mention later. The
Florentine people, which ruled the city at that time, was very proud
and was engaged in high and great enterprises, and it was often very
rash; yet one thing can be said of their rulers: they were very loyal
and true to the commune.

* * * * * * * *

At the time of the people in Florence, a very handsome and
strong lion was presented to the commune and was placed in a cage
in the Piazza San Giovanni. Because of the keeper's negligence, the
lion escaped and ran through the streets terrifying the city. When it
arrived at Orto San Michele, it caught hold of a boy and held him
between its paws.

The mother, who had no other children and had been pregnant
with this one when the father died, ran shrieking and disheveled up to
the lion and snatched the boy from its paws. The lion hurt neither
mother nor child, but simply sat quietly and watched the whole affair.
It was unclear whether this occurred because of the lion's noble
nature or because fortune had preserved the boy's life so that he
could pursue a vendetta regarding his dead father. He eventually did
so, and was called Orlanduccio of the lion of Calfette.

And note that in the time of the people, and before, and for a
long time after, the citizens of Florence lived soberly and on simple
food, spending little, and their manners were often course and plain.
They dressed themselves and their wives in coarse garments. Many
wore skins without linings and caps on their heads. All wore leather
boots on their feet. Florentine women wore boots without ornament,
and the greatest of them settled for a single tight-fitting gown of
coarse scarlet cloth fastened with a leather belt in the ancient
fashion, and a hooded cloak lined with squirrel, the hood being worn
on their heads. The common women wore coarse green cloth of
Cambrai cut in the same style, and one hundred lire was a common
dowry for wives, two or three hundred being considered excessive in
those days. Most young women were twenty or more before they
were married. Such were the plain manners of the Florentines, but
they were faithful and true to their commune and with their simple
life and poverty they did greater and more virtuous things than are
done in our time of increased delicacy and luxury.

* * * * * * * *

In 1260 the primo popolo came to an end and the Ghibellines
received their final taste of power in Florence. The reason for their
fall was a catastrophic error that led to the bloody defeat at
Montaperti. As Villani, describes it, they were defeated by a
combination of enemies: Manfred, the last great Hohenstaufen, who
directed the Ghibelline cause from his kingdom in southern Italy;
Siena, the Florentine's major rival in Tuscany; the Florentine
Ghibellines, who had found shelter in Siena after they were ejected
from Florence; and the Florentine Guelfs' own prideful stupidity, which
encouraged them to ignore the wiser counsels within their own party
and blunder into a deadly trap.

It happened that in the year of Christ 1260, in the month of
May, the people and commune of Florence led their full forces against
the city of Siena, bringing the carroccio with them. Note that the
carroccio brought by the people and commune of Florence was a four-
wheeled cart painted red, with two great poles sticking up on top
from which waved the communal standard, half white and half red,
which can be seen even today in San Giovanni. It was drawn by a
great pair of oxen covered with red cloth. The oxen were used only
for this purpose and belonged to the Ospedale di Pinti. The drover was
a freeman of the commune. Our ancestors used this carroccio for
triumphs and solemn processions and, when it went out on a military
expedition, counts and knights from the area brought it from San
Giovanni, accompanied it to the Piazza di Mercato Nuovo, and, having
paused a moment by a stone marker (which is still in existence)
carved in the form of a carroccio, handed it over to the people, who
led it on the expedition. The best, strongest and most virtuous foot-
soldiers were detailed to guard it, and the entire army massed around
it.

When the campaign was announced, one month before it
actually set out, a bell was placed in the arch of the Santa Maria gate
at the end of the new market. It was ringing continuously, day and
night. They did this arrogantly, to let the enemy know where the
campaign was going and give them time to prepare. Some people
called it the Martinella, others the asses' bell. When the expedition
set out, they removed the bell from the arch, placed it in a wooden
tower on a cart, and let its sound guide the army. Through these two
displays, the carroccio and the bell, our ancestors the people of old
maintained their lordly pride when on campaign.

We will leave this matter and turn to how the Florentines waged
war on the Sienese, taking the castles of Vicchio, Mezzano and
Casciole, which belonged to the Sienese, and establishing themselves
at Siena near the city gate by the monastery of Santa Petronella. Near
there, on a hillock which could be seen from the city, they placed a
tower where they kept their bell. Then, to show their scorn for the
Sienese and to commemorate their victory, they planted there an
olive tree which was still alive until our own time.

One day while the siege was in progress, the Florentine exiles in
Siena wined and dined Manfred's German troops and, when they were
drunk, incited them to ride out against the Florentine army, promising
them great gifts and double pay. This was done craftily by wise men
following the advice of Farinata degli Uberti, advice which he had
given while in Apulia. The Germans, drunk out of their wits, left Siena
and vigorously attacked the Florentine camp.

Because they had underrated the enemy forces, the Florentines were
caught off guard and were thoroughly unprepared. Thus the Germans,
despite their small number, did a great deal of damage to the army
and many Florentines, people and knights alike, made a poor show of
it, fleeing in fear that their assailants were greater in number than
was actually the case. But in the end they reconsidered, took arms,
defended themselves, and not one of the Germans who had left Siena
escaped alive. Manfred's standard was taken, dragged through the
camp, and brought to Florence. When these events had transpired, the
army returned to Florence.

* * * * * * * *

When the Sienese and Florentine exiles saw what a poor
showing the Florentines had made against so few German knights,
they decided they could win the war with more troops. They
immediately provided themselves with twenty thousand gold florins
from the company of the Salimbeni, who were merchants at that time.
As security, they put up the fortress at Tentennana and other castles
belonging to the commune. Then they sent their ambassadors off to
Apulia again bearing the money and a message to Manfred that his
few German knights, by great vigor and valor, had engaged the entire
Florentine army, put much of it to flight, and would have beaten it if
the German forces had been bigger. As it turned out, however,
because of their small number all lay dead on the field and his
standard had been dragged in disgrace through the camp, then in and
about Florence.

They said everything possible to arouse Manfred, who already
had heard the news and was furious. With the Sienese money, which
covered half the expenses for three months, and at his own expense
as well, Manfred sent his marshal Count Giordano to Tuscany with
eight hundred German knights. Accompanied by the ambassadors, they
arrived at Siena toward the end of July in the Year of Christ 1260 and
were greeted festively by the Sienese.

Their presence gave the Sienese and other Tuscan Ghibellines a
great deal of energy and confidence. The Sienese immediately sent an
army against the castle of Montalcino, which was under Florentine
control, and sent for aid to Pisa and all the other Tuscan Ghibellines,
so that with the knights of Siena, the Florentine exiles, the Germans
and their allies, there were 1800 knights in Siena, most of them
German.

The Florentine exiles, through whose effort King Manfred had
sent Count Giordano with the eight hundred German knights, decided
that they still would have done nothing if they could not draw the
Florentines out into the field, since the Germans were paid for only
three months and one and a half months already had passed since
their arrival. The exiles had no money to hire them for a longer time,
nor could they expect more from Manfred. Once their contract was up,
the Germans would return to Apulia without having done anything,
thus leaving the Tuscan Ghibellines in danger again.

Concluding that the situation could not be rectified without
great skill and strategy, they turned the matter over to Farinata degli
Uberti and Gherardo Ciccia dei Lamberti, who craftily dispatched two
wise friars minor with a message for the people of Florence. These
friars were first exposed to nine powerful Sienese who went to great
lengths to convince the friars that the government of Provenzano
Salvani, the current ruler of Siena, was odious to them and they would
willingly surrender the land to the Florentines for a price of ten
thousand gold florins. They further promised that, under the pretense
of fortifying Montalcino, they would come as far as the river Arbia
and then, with a force provided by them and their followers, would
turn over to the Florentines the gate of Santo Vito in the Via d'Arezzo.

The friars, having been exposed to this fraud and deceit, came to
Florence with letters and seals from the aforesaid Sienese and
appeared before the elders of the people. They said they could offer a
means of performing great deeds to the honor of the people and
commune of Florence, but the matter was so secret that it had to be
revealed under oath only to a few. Then the elders chose from among
themselves Spedito di Porte San Pietro, a man of great enterprise and
daring, one of the principal leaders of the people, and with him Gianni
Calcagni di Vacchereccia. Once the oath had been taken on an altar,
the friars disclosed the plot and displayed the letters.

Led by desire rather than prudence, the two elders believed in
the plan. They immediately raised the ten thousand gold florins,
placed them on deposit, and summoned an assembly of magnates and
people. They argued that, in order to provide for Montalcino, it was
necessary to dispatch to Siena a force even greater than the one
which had been at Santa Petronella the preceding May.

Count Guido Guerra and the nobles of the great Florentine Guelf
houses, knowing more than the People about warfare and nothing at
all about the bogus plan, aware as well that a new German force was
at Siena and that the Florentines had made a poor showing at Santa
Petronella against an assault by one hundred Germans, failed to see
the wisdom of the proposed campaign. Seeing that the citizens held
various opinions on the proposal and were hesitant to dispatch
another army, they argued that Montalcino could be provided for at
little expense, since the town of Orvieto was willing to take on that
responsibility, and that the Germans had been paid for only a three-
month term, half of which was already over. If the Florentines let
matters stand without launching a campaign, the Germans would soon
be back in Apulia, leaving the Sienese and the Florentine exiles worse
off than before.

The spokesman for this view was Tegghiaio Aldobrandi degli
Adimari, a wise and brave knight of great authority, and his advice
was by far the best offered. The aforesaid elder Spedito, a very
presumptuous man, gave that advice a rude answer, saying Tegghiaio
should check his pants if he was afraid. Tegghiaio replied that, when it
came to action, Spedito would not dare to be where Tegghiaio placed
himself in the battle.

When he had said this, Cece dei Gherardini arose to repeat what
Tegghiaio had said. The elders commanded him to be quiet and set a
fine of one hundred pounds for anyone who spoke against their
orders. The knight was willing to pay it in order to oppose the
campaign, but the elders refused and doubled the fine. He again
wished to pay it, so the fine became three hundred pounds. When he
still wanted to talk and pay, the penalty became his head, and there
the debate ended. Thus through a proud and thoughtless people the
worst advice won out, namely that the army should leave
immediately.

Once the people of Florence had made their unfortunate
decision, they sought aid from their allies, who came with foot-
soldiers and knights from Lucca, Prato, Volterra, San Miniato, San
Gimignano, and Colle di Valdelsa, all of which were in league with the
commune and people of Florence. In Florence there were eight
hundred horsemen who were citizens, as well as over five hundred
mercenaries.

When the army was assembled, it departed at the end of August. With
pomp and circumstance they led forth the carroccio and a bell which
they called Martinella, the latter being placed on a cart with a
wooden castle on wheels. Almost all the people went bearing the
standards of the guilds, and there was not a house or family in
Florence from which at least one person and sometimes two or more
(according to their power) did not go forth on foot or horseback. And
when they found themselves in Sienese territory, at the designated
spot on the river Arbia, in the place called Montaperti, with the
Perugians and Orvietans who joined them there, they had over three
thousand knights and thirty thousand foot-soldiers.

While the Florentines were preparing for their campaign, those
in Siena who had devised the plan sought to strengthen it by sending
other friars to Florence. They plotted treason with certain powerful
Ghibellines who had remained in Florence. These Ghibellines were to
join the campaign. Then, once the troops were in battle order, they
were to desert the ranks and join their own group, thus throwing the
Florentines into confusion. Those in Siena hatched this plot because it
seemed to them that they were greatly outnumbered by the
Florentines. And so it occurred.

Once the Florentine army was established in the hills of
Montaperti, those wise elders who had approved the plan and were
now leading the army waited for the Sienese traitors to open the gate
for them as promised. Meanwhile, an eminent Ghibelline named
Razzante, from the Porta San Pietro section in Florence, got wind of
what the Florentine leaders were waiting for. With the consent of
other Ghibellines in the army (who had treason on their minds), he
fled from the Florentine camp on horseback and went to Siena. His
mission was to inform the Florentine exiles there that the city was to
be betrayed and that the Florentines were well provided with knights
and foot-soldiers. He advised those within not to recommend battle.

When the two plotters Farinata and Gherardo heard his
message, they said to him, "You'll kill us if you spread this news
around Siena, because you'll frighten them. We want you to say just
the opposite. If we don't fight while we have these Germans, we're
dead! We'll never get back to Florence. Death and defeat would
actually be better for us than to go begging around the world any
longer." They preferred to stake their future on a single decisive
battle.

Having been set straight by Farinata and Gherardo, Razzante
promised to speak as they suggested. With a garland on his head and
a very cheerful expression on his face, he and the other two rode on
horseback to a meeting at the palace, where all the people of Siena,
the Germans and other allies were gathered. There he joyfully
announced the great news from the traitors in the Florentine camp.
The army, he said, was ill-prepared, poorly-led and disunited. A
determined attack would defeat them. When Razzante had delivered
his false report, the Sienese all armed, shouting "battle, battle!" The
Germans asked and received a promise of double pay, and their group
led the assault through the San Vito gate, the very one that was
supposed to be given to the Florentines. The other knights and people
followed close behind them.

When those in the Florentine army who were waiting for the
gate to be surrendered saw that the Germans, other knights, and the
people of Siena were all coming out toward them looking very
warlike, they were surprised and rather dismayed at this sudden
appearance and unforeseen attack. They were even more dismayed
when many Ghibellines in their camp, knights and foot-soldiers alike,
upon seeing the enemy forces, fled to the opposite side as they had
so treacherously planned. Among these were the Pressa, the Abati,
and many others. Nevertheless, the Florentines and their allies
managed to draw up in battle order.

When the German troops violently collided with the Florentine knights
at the point where the standard of the communal cavalry was being
carried by Iacopo del Nacca of the house of Pazzi, a man of great
valor, the traitor Bocca degli Abati, who was near lacopo in his troop,
struck him with his sword and cut off the hand with which he held the
standard, after which he soon died. Seeing their standard fallen and
themselves betrayed and strongly attacked by the Germans, the
Florentine knights and people were soon routed.

Because the cavalry was the first group to become aware of the
treason, only thirty-six of them were among the dead and captured.
Most of the slaughter and captivity was sustained by the Florentine
foot-soldiers and by the men of Lucca and Orvieto, who shut
themselves up in the castle of Montaperti and were all taken. Over
2500 were left dead on the field and more than 1500 were captured,
some of the best people in Florence, men from every house, as well as
those of Lucca and the other allies. Thus the arrogance of the
ungrateful and proud Florentine people was brought low. This was on
a Tuesday, the fourth of September, in the year of Christ 1260, and
the carroccio and bell called Martinella were left behind along with
uncountable booty from the baggage of the Florentines and their
allies. Thus ended the old people of Florence, which had exercised
such great lordship and won so many victories over its ten-year
period.

* * * * * * * *

When news of the grievous defeat reached Florence along with
those who had escaped, there arose among men and women a wail of
lament so powerful that it reached up to heaven, for there was no
house in Florence, small or great, from which someone had not been
killed or captured. ... The Guelf leaders were afraid the exiles would
soon arrive from Siena with the Germans, and they knew that
rebellious Ghibellines were already returning to the area. Thus the
Guelfs, without being banished or chased out, went weeping from
Florence along with their families and settled in Lucca. It was
Thursday the thirteenth of September, in the year of Christ 1260.

* * * * * * * *

Just as the Florentine Guelfs left home, so did those of Prato,
Pistoia, Volterra, San Miniato, San Gimignano, and many other places
in Tuscany, all of which returned to the Ghibelline party. The one
exception was Lucca, which remained Guelf for a while and became a
refuge for Guelfs from Florence and for other Tuscan exiles. The
Florentine Guelfs settled in the quarter around San Friano, and it was
Florentines who made the loggia in front of San Friano.

When the Florentines found themselves in that place, Tegghiaio
Aldobrandi saw Spedito, who had insulted him in the council meeting,
telling him he should check his pants. Tegghiaio stood up and took five
hundred gold florins from his purse. He showed the money to Spedito,
who had left Florence a poor man himself, and said to him
reproachfully, "See how I've soiled my pants! You've led yourself, me,
and all the others to this by your foolhardy and proud leadership."
Spedito replied, "Tell me, why did you believe us then?" We have
mentioned these petty and vile words as an example to show that no
citizen, particularly a Popolano or a man of lesser status, should be
too rash or presumptuous when he wields power.

At this time the Pisans, Sienese, Aretines, Count Giordano, and all the
other Ghibelline leaders of Tuscany met at Empoli.. .. At this meeting
all the neighboring cities, Count Guido, Count Alberto, those of
Santafiore, the Ubaldini and all the nearby barons agreed that, for the
good of the Ghibelline party, the city of Florence should be completely
demolished and reduced to an open village so that it would never
again be renowned, famous or powerful. At that proposal the valiant
and wise knight Farinata degli Uberti rose and spoke in opposition. In
his speech he recalled two old proverbs: "The ass chews up his turnips
as he knows how," and "the lame goat can go if the wolf doesn't meet
him." Farinata combined these proverbs, saying, "As the ass knows
how, so the lame goat goes; thus he chews up his turnips if the wolf
doesn't meet him."

Then he added examples and comparisons to these vulgar
proverbs in order to show how foolish it was to talk of this plan, as
well as what great danger and damage would result from it. He said,
finally, that even if there were no others with him, as long as he had
life in his body he would defend Florence with sword in hand. When
Count Giordano saw what sort of man Farinata was, noting his
authority and great following, he recognized that the Ghibelline party
would be torn apart by the plan and he abandoned it. Thus our city of
Florence escaped fury, destruction and ruin through the action of a
single good citizen; yet the people of Florence were ungrateful
toward Farinata and his family, as we shall see later. Nevertheless,
even if an ungrateful people fails to recognize his deed, we should
nevertheless commend and perpetuate the memory of this noble and
virtuous citizen who acted in the manner of Camillus, the good
ancient Roman whose story is told by Valerius and Titus Livius.

* * * * * * * *

Ghibelline domination lasted only as long as Manfred's
ascendency .In 1265, the papacy found a new ally, Charles of Anjou,
brother of the king of France. In the spring of 1265 Charles arrived in
Italy with a French army, and in February 1266 he encountered
Manfred's army at Benevento. Manfred was killed and his army
annihilated.

Thus the Guelfs returned to power in Florence, and the
Ghibellines again found themselves in exile. By 1272, however, the
pope was intervening to bring about a settlement between the two
factions.

In the year 1272, Gregory X.. . was crowned pope. A year after
his coronation, the pope left Rome with his court in order to go to
Lyons on the Rh(tm)ne River, where he had summoned a general council.
On the way, he stopped in Florence with his cardinals, ... and they
were honorably received by the Florentines. Because the water was
handy, the air pure, and the papal court offered every convenience,
the situation in Florence so pleased the pope that he decided to spend
the summer there. When he found that such a fine city as Florence
was being destroyed because of the parties, the Ghibellines now being
in exile, he wished them to return to Florence and make peace with
the Guelfs. And so it was done...

* * * * * * * *

The 1272 settlement existed entirely on the level of theory.
In fact, the Guelfs stayed in power and the Ghibellines stayed in exile.
By 1278 another pope found himself pondering not only the
unresolved Guelf-Ghibelline split but a series of feuds among Guelfs.
The result was a new papal intervention which produced not only
reconciliation but a new type of government.

By that time (1278), since the great Guelfs of Florence were
victoriously and honorably resting from their warfare with outside
enemies and had fattened up on the goods of the exiled Ghibellines,
their pride and envy led them to fight among themselves. Thus were
born among the citizens of Florence a series of quarrels and hatreds
which resulted in death or wounding. One of the greatest of these
was the dissension between the Adimari, a great and powerful family,
and the Tosinghi, Donati and Pazzi, all of whom were allied together
against the Adimari in such a way that practically the entire city was
divided, some holding with one side and some with the other. Because
of this strife, the commune and the captains of the Guelf party sent
ambassadors to Pope Nicholas III requesting his advice and aid in
pacifying the Florentine Guelfs. Otherwise the Guelf party would split
and one faction would drive the other out. In the same way, the
Ghibelline exiles sent their ambassadors to the pope begging him to
put into effect the peace treaty arranged by Pope Gregory X between
them and the Florentine Guelfs. For these reasons the pope confirmed
the treaty, appointing as legate and mediator Cardinal Latino, a man
of great learning and authority, highly valued by the pope. When he
received the pope's command the cardinal left the Romagna, where he
was employed on church business, and on October 8 in the year of
Christ 1278 he arrived in Florence with three hundred knights of the
church. He was met with great honor by the Florentines and the clergy
in procession, the carroccio and many jousters coming out to meet
him.

On the day of Saint Luke the Evangelist, during the aforesaid
year and month, the legate installed and blessed the first stone of the
new church of Santa Maria Novella, built for the preaching friars of
which he was a member. There he dealt with the matter of peace
between Guelf and Guelf as well as Guelf and Ghibelline. The first item
of business was a truce between the Uberti and the Buondelmonti - it
was the third one between them - and it included all but the sons of
Rinieri Zingane dei Buondelmonti, who, upon refusing their assent,
were excommunicated by the legate and banished by the commune.

The peace was not lost on their account, however, for the legate
favorably concluded it the following February when the entire people
assembled in the old square in front of the aforementioned church.
The square was covered with cloths and great wooden platforms on
which were the cardinal, many bishops, prelates, clergy, monks, and
the podestˆ, the captain of the people, all the councilors, and other
officers of Florence. The legate delivered a fine sermon with many
lovely authorities thoroughly fitting the occasion, for he was a wise
and skillful preacher. When he had finished, representatives of the
Guelfs and Ghibellines kissed one another on the mouth, thus joyfully
making peace among all the citizens. There were 150 on each side.
Then and there the legate announced the terms each side must
observe, confirming the peace with solemn, duly authorized
documents and proper guarantees. From that moment the Ghibellines
could and did return to Florence with their families and were absolved
from all banishment and condemnation. All the books of banishment
and condemnation in the chamber were burned. These Ghibellines also
received their possessions back, but to insure the security of the land
it was ordained that some of the greater Ghibellines should have to
remain within certain boundaries.

When the cardinal had finished with the Guelfs and Ghibellines,
he made peace among individual families, starting with the greatest
of all, that of the Adimari with the Tosinghi, Donati and Pazzi,
arranging several weddings between the families. In similar fashion
he settled all the feuds in Florence and throughout the countryside,
some by the will of the parties involved and others by command of
the commune, sentence having been pronounced by the cardinal with
solid sanctions and guarantees. The cardinal derived a great deal of
honor from these peace treaties, almost all of which were
maintained, for they allowed the city of Florence to remain in a
peaceful, good and tranquil state for some time.

The legate decreed that the city should be governed by fourteen
good men drawn both from the Grandi and from the Popolani. There
were to be eight Guelfs and six Ghibellines. Their term of office was to
be two months, and a means of election was established. They were
to assemble in the house of the Badia of Florence, above the gate that
goes to Santa Margherita, returning to their own homes to eat and
sleep.

These things having been accomplished, Cardinal Latino returned
with great honor to his duties in the Romagna...

* * * * * * * *

The Guelf-Ghibelline honeymoon lasted for four years. In 1282
the dominant Guelfs excluded the Ghibellines and created a new type
of government which was destined to have a long run in Florence, the
priors. Note that the government was now based upon the guild
system. The guilds which led the way were the Calimala or cloth-
merchants' guild, the bankers' guild, and the Lana or wool-
manufacturers' guild.

In the year of Christ 1282, the city of Florence was
governed by fourteen good men as the Cardinal Latino had ordained,
with eight Guelfs and six Ghibellines. It seemed to the citizens that
this government of fourteen was too big and confusing. Thus, in order
to unify the many divided souls, but especially because the Guelfs did
not like sharing power with the Ghibellines,... for the safety and
health of the city the government of fourteen was abolished and a
new one created. This one was called "the priors of the guilds."...This
innovation and movement began through the advice of the Calimala
guild, which contained the wisest and most powerful citizens in
Florence. . . The first priors were Bartolo di Messer lacopo dei Bardi
for the district of Oltrarno and for the Calimala guild; Rosso Bacherelli
for the district of San Piero Scheraggio and for the money-changers'
guild; and Salvi del Chiaro Girolami for the district of San Brancazio
and for the Lana guild.

They began their term in mid-June of the same year and it
lasted until mid-August, after which three new priors were supposed
to take over every two months, representing the three greater guilds.
They were to work, eat and sleep at communal expense in the house
of the Badia, where the elders in the time of the First People and then
later the fourteen used to meet. They were given six marshals and six
messengers to summon the citizens. These priors, along with the
captain of the people, had to settle the great and weighty matters of
the commune, summoning councils and making regulations.

When two months had passed, the citizens approved of the
arrangement and for the next two months appointed six priors, one
for each district, adding to the three aforementioned guilds those of
the doctors and pharmacists, the Porta Santa Maria guild, and the
guild of furriers and leather-workers. Then gradually all the rest of
the twelve major guilds were added. They were men of good deeds
and reputation, Grandi and Popolani, artisans and merchants. This
arrangement endured until the time of the Second People, which we
will mention in due course. After that point the Grandi were excluded
and a standard-bearer of justice added, and from time to time there
were twelve priors as special needs or circumstances dictated, the
priors being chosen from all twenty-one guilds, and even from those
who were not themselves artisans as long as their ancestors had
been such.

The new priors were chosen by the old ones and by the leaders
of the twelve major guilds, along with certain others who elected the
priors for each district, casting secret ballots, with him who received
the most votes becoming prior. This election took place in the church
of San Piero Scheraggio with the captain of the people stationed next
to the church in the houses belonging to the Tizzoni.

We have said a great deal about the beginning of this office of
the priors because great changes occurred in the city of Florence
through it, as we will explain later.

In the Middle Ages, wealth and power were often expected to
guarantee a degree of immunity from normal judicial procedures.
(Perhaps this is always the case. The expectation was at any rate
more blatant in the Middle Ages.) In 1292 the Florentines attempted
to remedy this situation with the Ordinances of Justice, which placed
certain legal restrictions on the grandi for the protection of the popolani.

The words grande (pl. grandi) and popolano (pl. popolani) are difficult to render in English. It is tempting to
translate them "noble" and "commoner," but that is not quite what
they mean. In the eyes of the Florentines, the grandi were that
handful of people whose wealth and family connections gave them
the power to oppress the rest of the population, the popolani. With the Ordinances of Justice, however, the word became a legal
designation. Henceforth by branding certain families as grandi

the government could neutralize their power by limiting their
political rights.

The popolani were hardly a homogeneous group, however.
Political power was now exercised by a small number of wealthy
citizens whom Florentines rather picturesquely termed the popolo
grasso, "the fat people." The lower orders of society, the popolo
minuto or "little people," simply obeyed. Thus, from the
perspective of the popolo minuto the grandi were not
the only oppressors around.

In the same year (1287), the podest&agrave of Florence, Matteo
da Fogliano di Reggio, had condemned to death for murder a great
warrior and leader named Totto dei Mazzinghi da Campi. As he was on
his way to execution, Corso dei Donati and his followers tried to
rescue him by force, but the podestˆ ordered that the great bell be
sounded. Then all the good people of Florence armed and assembled at
the palace, some on horseback and others on foot, crying "justice,
justice!" By this means the podest&agrave managed to carry out the
sentence, and whereas the aforesaid Totto was originally supposed to
be beheaded, he was dragged along the ground and then hanged.
Those who had begun the uproar and impeded justice were fined.

In the year of Christ 1292, in the month of February, the city of
Florence was great and powerful in every way, its citizens fat and
rich. Because of excessive tranquillity which naturally engenders
pride and novelty, the citizens were envious and arrogant toward one
another. The result was a series of murders, woundings and other
outrages, particularly by the nobles who were called Grandi, against
the defenseless Popolani. In the city and in the countryside, they
committed violence against other people's bodies and goods and took
over other people's property.

Thus certain good men, artisans and merchants of Florence who
wanted the good life, decided to end this pestilence. .. They
promulgated certain very strong and weighty laws against powerful
Grandi who perpetrated violence against Popolani, strengthening the
common penalties in various ways. They enacted that one member of
a Grandi family should be held accountable for all other members, that
two witnesses should be sufficient to convict a malefactor, and that
the communal accounts should be revised.

These laws they called the Ordinances of Justice. In order to
preserve and execute them they ordained that, besides the six priors
who governed the city, there should be a standard-bearer of justice
from each district, changing every two months as the priors did. When
the great bell tolled, the people were to assemble in the church of San
Piero Scheraggio and present the standard of justice, which had not
been customary before. They also ordained that no priors should come
from the houses of those nobles called Grandi.

The ensign and standard of the people was to be a white field
with a red cross. One thousand citizens were elected, the total
number being divided among the districts with standard-bearers for
each ward and fifty foot-soldiers (each with hauberk and shield
marked with a cross) for each standard. At any disorder or summons
by the standard-bearer these citizens were to assemble at the house
or palace of the priors and act against the Grandi. The number of foot-
soldiers later grew to two thousand, then four thousand. A similar
order of soldiers for the people, with the same ensign, was ordained
for the countryside, and they were called "the leagues of the people."

The first standard-bearer was Baldo dei Ruffoli from the Porte
del Duomo. In his time the standard went forth under arms to destroy
the goods of a house called Galli of the Porta Santa Maria, because
one of them had murdered a Popolano while in France.

This innovation by the people and resulting change in the state
was very important to the city of Florence. It later had a substantial
effect, both good and bad, upon the commune, as we shall see. This
innovation by the people would have been prevented by the Grandi if
there had not been so many quarrels and disagreements among them
at that time, as in fact had been the case ever since the Guelfs
returned to Florence. For there was great war between the Adimari
and Tosinghi, between the Bardi and Mozzi, between the Gherardini
and Manieri, between the Cavalcanti and Buondelmonti, between
certain of the Buondelmonti and the Giandonati, between the
Visdomini and Falconieri, between the Bostichi and Foraboschi,
between the Foraboschi and Malispini, among the Frescobaldi
themselves, and among the Donati themselves, as well as among
many other houses.

* * * * * * * *

At one point in his chronicle, Villani pauses to present an
overview that has fascinated historians ever since. There is no reason
to assume that Villani's figures are deadly accurate, but there is
equally little reason to believe them wildly inaccurate.

Since we have described the income and expenditure of the
commune of Florence during this period (ca. 1338), it seems fitting to
mention other important features of our city so that our successors in
later times can be aware of any rise or decline in the condition and
power of our city, and so that the wise and worthy citizens who rule
in future times can advance its condition and power through the
record and example of this chronicle. Careful investigation has
established that at that time there were in Florence approximately
25,000 men capable of bearing arms, ages fifteen to seventy, all
citizens, of which 1,500 were noble and powerful citizens required as
Grandi to post the customary guarantees. There were then around
seventy-five fully-equipped knights. We find of course that before
the government of the "second people," which is still in power, there
were more than 250 knights, but after the people began its rule the
Grandi had neither the status nor the authority they formerly
enjoyed.

We learn from the taxes collected at the gates that around
5,900,000 gallons of wine entered Florence yearly, and in times of
abundance there would be around 1,120,000 gallons more.

The city required approximately 4,000 oxen and calves, 60,000
sheep, 20,000 goats and 30,000 pigs annually.

During the month of July 4,000 loads of melons came through
the San Friano gate and were distributed throughout the city.

During this period the following offices in Florence, each of
which administered justice and had the right to torture, were held by
foreigners: The podestˆ; the captain and defender of the people and
the guilds; the executor of the ordinances of justice; the captain of
the guard or conservator of the people, who had more power than the
others (though all four of the offices just mentioned could administer
punishment); the judge handling civil justice and appeals; the judge in
charge of taxes; the official concerned with female ornamentation;
the official concerned with the merchants; the official concerned with
the Lana guild; the ecclesiastical officials; the court of the bishop of
Florence; the court of the bishop of Fiesole; the inquisitor; and other
dignitaries of our city which should not be left unmentioned if those
who come after us are to be properly informed. Within the walls,
Florence was laid out and built up well, with many lovely houses. At
that time construction went on continually and techniques were
improved in order to make the buildings comfortable and luxurious.
Examples of every sort of improvement were imported from abroad.
Cathedrals, churches for friars of every order, and magnificent
monasteries were built.

Beyond this, there was no citizen, Popolano or Grande, who had
not built or was not building a large and rich estate in the
countryside, with an expensive mansion and other buildings even
better than those in the city. Each one of them was sinning in this
respect, and they were considered mad for their inordinate
expenditure. It was such a marvelous thing to see that most
foreigners unfamiliar with Florence thought, when they came from
abroad, that the sumptuous buildings and beautiful palaces occupying
a three-mile area around the city were a part of the city itself, in the
manner of Rome, to say nothing of the sumptuous palaces, towers,
courts and walled gardens farther from the city, which would have
been called castles in any other territory. In short, it was determined
that, within a six-mile radius of Florence, there were more than twice
the number of sumptuous and noble mansions found in Florence itself.
And with this we have said enough about the situation in Florence.

Translation by David Burr [olivi@mail.vt.edu]. See his home page. He indicated that the translations are available for educational use. He intends to expand the number of translations, so keep a note of his home page.